The Necklace
by Stormbringer246
Summary: Oneshot. What Zuko thinks about while holding onto Katara's necklace. Zutara if you squint.


A/n: I often think of myself as a really bad fan fic-er.But none the less I wanted to give something back to the fandom, so I decided it wouldn't hurt to try a fanfiction, and hey, it may not turn out so bad. So, as usual disclaimers go: I do not own Avatar nor anything else in this humble fanfiction. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thank you and Enjoy!

**The Necklace**

He had never intended to keep the stupid thing that long. If anything, just long enough to taunt the stupid waterbender into telling him where the Avatar was and then giving the blasted thing back. Yet here he was, Prince Zuko of the Fire nation holding on to…. a necklace.

He had offered to give it back. All she would have to do in return is give him the Avatar. But she was relentless and would not yield to him. But oh, how he saw it: the hurt, confusion, the longing for her lost trinket. He couldn't help but suppress a small smile as he watched her face twist as she denied him of his offer.

He had meant to give it back that day, obviously bribing her with it wasn't worth it so what good would it do him now anyways? But as always their group was quick to make their getaway, and so he was still stuck with her necklace.

He didn't know what to do with it at first. Stick it in a storage unit in his ship and risk it being lost? Even he wasn't as cold hearted as that to go and lose a girls necklace, which obviously carried some importance for her. _No_, he decided, _I'll just carry it around with me until I find another chance to return it_.

So Zuko stuck it in one of the many pockets and keep safe places in his uniform, the one right next to his chest so he did not risk losing it should it decide to slip out.

He at first found it a bit hindering, uncomfortable with the affection the waterbender had for it and the almost certain doom he would face should he ever cause harm to it in any way. But he soon got use to it and its existence had all but vanished from his mind.

It was by chance really, that he took it out of his uniform one night. Uncle Iroh had been relentless that night and would not let Zuko be until he participated in some way during music night. Spared the humility of singing a duet with his uncle or being forced to play the Sungi horn, Zuko had opted to just sit and watch the crew's performance for a little while. It was during one of the officer's solo's that he had the unfortunate luck to be drawn into a sort of dance with his uncle. Iroh had led him around the group in a clumsy sort of jig when Zuko's uncoordinated feet sent him tripping onto the table holding everyone's drinks. The laughter that he faced was nothing compared to the cold terror he felt as he was once again reminded of the necklace he had been carrying around with him, now sure to be soaked through with the liquids they had been consuming that night.

Zuko had run down to his room, paying no mind to the crew behind him doing their best not to laugh. Half way down the halls he had already stripped off his chest-plate armor and was fumbling in his pocket for the charm. He reached his door and found it, just as he stepped foot into his threshold. Closing the door behind him, he removed the rest of his soaked clothing and made his way over to his bed, lighting candles on his way. Inspecting it carefully, Zuko traced his eye over every fine detail of the necklace --making sure it was undamaged. As he was about to set it down, determining that he had just overreacted, he saw a small crack that had formed right along the top wave line that had not been there when he had found the thing.

His heart caught in his throat for a moment, and he decided it would not be wise to keep the necklace in his pocket anymore. Zuko heaved a sigh as he placed the necklace on the table underneath his broadswords and retrieved a pail of water to soak out the liquid he had gotten on it earlier.

Handling it carefully, he removed it from the water the next day, and even more carefully he steamed the liquid off to dry. Zuko then donned his armor, and when he was all ready to go out and continue his search for the Avatar, he donned the necklace too, hiding it under the collar of his uniform.

Zuko almost had to thank the bald monk when he saw him next. The Avatar had done him a favor by returning the waterbender's necklace to her, and spared Zuko a lot of embarrassment by simply handing it back over.

Now, face to face with the waterbending girl at the oasis, a wicked smile curved on his lips as he crossed the bridge over to her to make himself known. There she was, standing as defiantly as ever, giving him a glare that said _See? I have my necklace back. And now, I can kick your butt too. _His eyes trailed over her figure and rested upon her neck, gazing intently at the small crack on the first wave line. He smiled a dark smile to himself, feeling a sort of attachment and connection to the trinket, and now to its wearer. She obviously had not noticed the crack yet, too preoccupied by her group's journey to the north. But she would. Oh, she would. And when that happened, she'd go marching up to him with a flame to match his own.

And that was a day, he could eagerly anticipate.


End file.
